Got a room in Creel at the Hotel Paraiso Del Bosque - $350p – hmmm, same price as last night but has a shower that works (first thing I checked), has heat, internet (kinda), etc. Bunch of buses parked in the parking lot guess they put up some of the passengers from the Copper Canyon train as I think they can stay overnight in Creel. Slow time of year for them.

Decided to stay an extra night in Creel in spite of what turned out to be spotty internet at the hotel. Restaurant in the middle of town has good internet, good food and good beer. Got some of this ride report done and caught up on the mundane things of life like bike maintenance and laundry.

An interesting town as many of the ladies still wear the traditional dress – some very colorful. Hard to get pictures as many don’t like their picture taken. Particularly with young people, will see girls in traditional dress hanging around with girls in jeans and t-shirts. It is an interesting contrast.

This area including the Copper Canyon is the home to the Tarahumara Indians – famous for developing the huarache and for being incredible long distance runners. They are the ones generally responsible for the growth of barefoot running. They would run through the canyons for dozens of miles, many times playing a traditional game. Tough feet but rocks, sticks, etc take their toll, ergo the huarache. If you ever get a hankerin to read up on these folks, the story of their running and the start of the “barefoot running” thing, get a copy of a book Born to Run – some will say not well written, but still interesting.

Saw one man in a traditional “skirt” – a kind of large loin cloth, obviously great for running. I was too slow to sneak a pic of him but here is a stock Google picture – the guy I saw had a slightly longer garment.

See a number of the older folks wearing huaraches. Again, a stock pic – hard to run around asking people to take pictures of their feet

Dinner was Machaca de Mexicana – kind of chopped beef with spices. Very tasty.

__________________www.rexbuck.com - RexBuck's Latin America
Information on travelling in Latin America.
Includes links to ride reports to Mexico and to South America